Amex Membership Rewards Changes From 15 November 2026: What Happens to Your Points — and What to Do Before the Deadline
Amex Membership Rewards Changes From 15 November 2026: What Happens to Your Points — and What to Do Before the Deadline
American Express India will track Membership Rewards points separately for each card from 15 November 2026, permanently end card-to-card point transfers, remove the 50% annual fee waiver on the Membership Rewards Credit Card and count milestones by posting date. Several digital services will be unavailable from 11 to 18 November.
If you hold more than one American Express card in India, you have probably got used to thinking of your Membership Rewards points as one pot. Earn on the Gold Card, earn on the MRCC, and redeem or transfer the combined balance to Marriott or Singapore Airlines when you are ready. From 15 November 2026, that pot is being split up, and the links between the pieces are being cut.
The change is part of a wider reset at Amex India this autumn. Over the past two months the company has ended its Reward Multiplier programme, dropped two customer services, trimmed Platinum Travel milestones and paused new supplementary cards. The 15 November package is the largest piece, and it affects how you earn, how you redeem and what you pay in fees. Here is exactly what changes, who loses most, and what to do in the three weeks before it takes effect.
Quick Summary
From 15 November 2026, each Amex card will hold its own points balance, and you will no longer be able to move points between your cards. According to Amex’s own update page, existing points are split by each card’s balance, while earn rates, point values and redemption options stay the same. The Membership Rewards Credit Card loses its 50% annual fee waiver at ₹90,000 of spend; only the full waiver at ₹1.5 lakh remains. Milestones count by the date transactions post, overdue accounts stop earning and redeeming, and late fees will be based on the total amount due. Plan big redemptions, transfers and milestone spends before 11 November.
What We Know
- Amex’s update page says points will be tracked separately for each Basic Card from 15 November 2026.
- Transfers of points between your cards are permanently discontinued from the same date.
- The MRCC 50% fee waiver on ₹90,000 or more of annual spend is removed; the full waiver at ₹1.5 lakh continues.
- Milestones will be judged on transaction posting dates and credited by the end of the qualifying month.
- Earn rates and the value of points in Select and Redeem are unchanged, according to Amex.
What Is Still Unclear
- Exactly how Amex will calculate “each card’s balance” for points earned years ago on cards you still hold.
- What happens to points on a card you cancel after 15 November; reports say cardmembers are still seeking clarity.
- Whether airline and hotel transfer ratios will change later; none were announced in this package.
- Amex has not publicly explained why the changes were made; reports link them to a systems migration.
The End of the Single Points Pot
Until now, an Indian cardmember with, say, a Gold Charge Card and a Membership Rewards Credit Card saw one Membership Rewards balance and could move points between cards. That mattered because many of the most valuable redemptions, such as hotel and airline transfers, need a minimum of 1,000 points and reward bigger, combined balances.
From 15 November, Amex says points will be tracked separately for each Basic Card, existing points will be split according to each card’s balance, and transfers between your cards will stop for good. Supplementary card spending continues to count towards the main card it is attached to, according to Live From A Lounge’s report of the cardmember communication.
Who this actually hurts
If you hold only one Amex card, the pooling change does not affect you. It matters most for people who hold two or three cards and treat them as one rewards account: for example, a Platinum Travel holder who also keeps an MRCC to collect its monthly bonus points. After the split, smaller balances on a secondary card may be hard to use well, particularly if they fall below the 1,000-point minimums or are too small for a meaningful transfer.
What cardmembers often get wrong
Some assume the split only applies to points earned after 15 November. Amex’s update page says existing points will be split by each card’s balance. If you were planning to consolidate points onto one card for a big redemption, the window to do that is before the change, and in practice before the service blackout begins on 11 November.
The MRCC Fee Cliff at ₹1.5 Lakh
The Membership Rewards Credit Card has a ₹4,500 annual fee plus GST, about ₹5,310. Until now, spending ₹1.5 lakh in a membership year waived the fee completely, and spending ₹90,000 or more earned a 50% waiver. From 15 November, the 50% tier is removed. You either reach ₹1.5 lakh and pay nothing, or you pay the full fee.
| Annual MRCC spend | Fee before, with GST | Fee after, with GST | Extra cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| ₹80,000 | ₹5,310 | ₹5,310 | ₹0 |
| ₹90,000 | ₹2,655 | ₹5,310 | ₹2,655 |
| ₹1,20,000 | ₹2,655 | ₹5,310 | ₹2,655 |
| ₹1,49,999 | ₹2,655 | ₹5,310 | ₹2,655 |
| ₹1,50,000 | ₹0 | ₹0 | ₹0 |
| ₹2,40,000 | ₹0 | ₹0 | ₹0 |
Worked example: Rohan’s MRCC at ₹1.2 lakh a year
Rohan spends about ₹10,000 a month on his MRCC, ₹1.2 lakh a year. Until now he paid half the fee, ₹2,655 with GST. After 15 November, he will pay ₹5,310 unless he raises his spend by ₹30,000 to ₹1.5 lakh. At 1 point per ₹50, that extra ₹30,000 also earns 600 points. If he can move that much of his regular spending onto the MRCC, reaching ₹1.5 lakh saves him the full ₹5,310 fee. If he cannot, he should weigh whether the card’s monthly milestone bonuses, worth up to 12,000 points a year for four transactions of ₹1,500 each month, still justify the full fee.
Milestones Now Run on the Posting Date
Amex’s monthly milestones, such as the MRCC’s 1,000 bonus points for four transactions of ₹1,500 or more in a month and another 1,000 for ₹20,000 of monthly spend, continue. What changes is how a month is counted. From 15 November, eligibility depends on when a transaction posts to your account, not when you made the purchase, and bonuses are credited by the end of the month in which you qualify.
That sounds technical, but it can cost you a milestone. A purchase made on 30 November that posts on 1 December now counts towards December. Live From A Lounge gives a similar example for a 30 September purchase posted on 1 October. Amex’s update page says transactions posted on or after 15 November follow the new structure, and earlier ones the old.
The posting delay is usually one to three days for most merchants, though it varies; this is indicative, not an Amex service level. The safe habit is to complete milestone spending by about the 25th of each month.
Pay Late, Lose Your Points Access
Two changes raise the cost of missing a payment. First, if any amount is still overdue when your next statement is generated, you stop earning and redeeming points on that card from that statement date until the overdue amount is paid. Amex gives the example of a 1 November statement still overdue on 1 December: no earning or redeeming from 1 December until it is cleared. Existing points are kept, and you can redeem or transfer until the next statement date.
Second, for credit cards, late payment fees on statements generated after 15 November will be based on the total amount due rather than the minimum amount due, in slabs from ₹500 to ₹1,250, according to Amex’s update page. A larger statement balance can therefore mean a higher late fee even if your minimum due was small.
Redemption Moves Into the New App, With the Same Value
From 15 November, statement-credit redemptions move to the new Amex mobile app. You can apply points to your overall outstanding balance in one step, including fees and interest, without picking individual transactions. The minimum is 1,000 points, and you can redeem up to your points balance or your outstanding balance, whichever is lower. Amex says Select and Redeem values are unchanged, and you must still pay the minimum amount due after a partial redemption.
Transfer partners are not part of this announcement. According to CardAdvisor, Marriott Bonvoy transfers at 1:1 with a minimum of 1,000 points, KrisFlyer, Avios and Asia Miles at 2:1, Virgin Atlantic at 5:4 since 18 August 2026, and Hilton moved to 2:3 on the same date. The split of balances does not change these ratios, but it can leave each card with a smaller balance to transfer.
The Week Your Amex App Goes Quiet
The changes come with a systems migration, and Amex’s update page lists a series of temporary service gaps in mid-November. Card spending continues, but many account tasks pause.
Amex says points may take longer to appear online between 12 and 16 November but are not lost, and no late fee applies because of the delay. Statements generated from 12 to 17 November will be available by 18 November, with due dates unchanged. Online card cancellation is unavailable from 12 to 15 November. Make any contact-detail, PIN or security changes before 11 November.
The Quieter Changes: Supplementary Cards, Account Cards and Lost Perks
Alongside the points changes, Amex is tightening how families share accounts. New Supplementary Card applications paused from 27 October 2026, with applications already in progress processed until 3 November, according to Amex’s update page. Existing supplementary cards continue, and their spending still earns points on the main card. Separately, the Account Card, used mainly by Charge Card holders to separate spending under the same name, will not be issued new from mid-November, though existing Account Cards keep working.
Some perks are also going. The Ace by Times Prime membership offered on some cards ends from 20 October, although existing memberships stay valid until they expire. Emergency Card Replacement ended on 8 October; standard replacements take about 7 to 10 business days, which matters if you lose a card while travelling. Business Standard also reported that Platinum Travel’s ₹7 lakh milestone now gives a ₹20,000 Taj Experiences gift card instead of 22,500 Membership Rewards points, and its domestic lounge access depends on spending from October.
Should you keep your Amex card?
For most cardmembers, nothing in this package makes the cards dramatically worse on its own. The earn rates and point values are unchanged, and transfer partners like Marriott remain. The people who lose most are those who relied on pooling several cards, MRCC holders spending between ₹90,000 and ₹1.5 lakh, and anyone who used Reward Multiplier heavily before it ended on 30 September. If you are in one of those groups, use your renewal date to decide whether the card still earns more than it costs, based on the benefits you actually use rather than the maximum on paper.
Three Months of Amex Changes, in Order
Your Pre-15 November Checklist
- Note your current Membership Rewards balance, ideally with a screenshot, before 11 November.
- If you hold two or more cards and plan a large transfer or redemption, do it before the change while points can still be combined.
- Check your MRCC membership-year spend. If you are between ₹90,000 and ₹1.5 lakh, decide whether to move spending to reach ₹1.5 lakh or accept the full fee.
- Clear any overdue amount so earning and redemption are not paused.
- Update contact details, PIN and security settings before 11 November.
- Complete monthly milestone spending by about the 25th of each month from November onward.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is changing in Amex Membership Rewards from 15 November 2026?
Points will be tracked separately for each Basic Card, transfers between your cards end permanently, the MRCC 50% fee waiver is removed, milestones count by posting date, and overdue accounts stop earning and redeeming. Earn rates and point values stay the same, according to Amex.
Will my existing Amex points be lost?
No. Amex says existing points are kept and will be split according to each card’s balance. Points may take longer to appear online between 12 and 16 November.
Can I still transfer points between my Amex cards?
Only until the change takes effect. From 15 November 2026, card-to-card transfers are permanently discontinued. Supplementary card spending still counts towards the main card.
Is the Amex MRCC fee still waived?
Yes, if you spend ₹1.5 lakh in a membership year. The 50% waiver for spending ₹90,000 or more is removed from 15 November 2026, so spending below ₹1.5 lakh means paying the full ₹4,500 plus GST.
Do Amex transfer partners like Marriott change on 15 November?
No changes to transfer partners or ratios were announced in this package. Marriott remains 1:1 and airlines such as KrisFlyer 2:1, according to CardAdvisor’s 2026 guide.
How do Amex monthly milestones work after 15 November?
Eligibility is based on the date transactions post to your account, not the purchase date, and bonuses are credited by the end of the qualifying month. A purchase that posts in the next month counts towards that month.
What happens to Amex points if my payment is overdue?
If an amount is still overdue when your next statement is generated, you stop earning and redeeming points on that card until it is paid. Existing points are kept.
Which Amex services are unavailable in November 2026?
Between 11 and 18 November, some digital services, contact and PIN changes, EMI requests, direct debit enrolments, online cancellation and golf bookings are temporarily unavailable on different dates. Card spending continues.
The Short Version
From 15 November 2026, American Express India splits Membership Rewards points card by card and permanently ends transfers between your cards. The MRCC loses its 50% fee waiver at ₹90,000, leaving only the full waiver at ₹1.5 lakh. Milestones will count by posting date, overdue accounts lose earning and redemption, and late fees will be based on the total amount due. Earn rates and point values do not change. If you hold several Amex cards, consolidate or redeem before 11 November, when a week of service gaps begins, and check your MRCC spend against ₹1.5 lakh.
